1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cover and a cover mechanism for use in a cartridge for an electric stapler, in which a cover body is mounted over the cartridge to be removably mounted into the electric stapler and the cover body cannot be opened before sheet-like staples stored in the cartridge are all consumed up.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a cartridge for an electric stapler, there is formed a storage portion capable of receiving and storing therein a refill (a component formed in such a shape as shown in FIG. 1 of JP-A-7-148674, which is also referred to as an inner cartridge) in which sheet-like staples each composed of a plurality of linear-shaped staples connected together in a sheet manner are piled up on top of another and are packed simply. In the upper portion (or lower portion) of the storage portion, there is formed an opening and thus the refill can be inserted into the storage portion of the cartridge through this opening. When the cartridge is mounted into the main body of the electric stapler with the present opening facing upwardly (or downwardly), the sheet-like staples are supplied sequentially in order starting at the nearest one to the opening from the storage portion to a drive portion of the cartridge, where the staples can be driven into a member to be stitched.
As shown in FIG. 5, in case where an operator removes a cartridge when one or more sheet-like staples 21 still remain within a storage portion 20 and, under an illusion that no sheet-like staple 21 remains within a refill 22, the operator opens a cover 23 to try to pull out the refill 22 from an opening formed in the cartridge in order to replace the refill 22 with a new one, since the refill 22 is structured such that it can be removed from the cartridge only after the sheet-like staples 21 are all consumed up, if the operator tries to pull out the refill 22 forcibly, then the refill 22 itself can be damaged or the sheet-like staples 21 may be broken. In this state, even if the operator gives up removing the refill 22, inserts it again into the main body of an electric stapler, and tries to drive the staples, because the refill or sheet-like staples are damaged and deformed, there is a fear that a feedmechanism fails to operate properly, which results in the poor feeding of the sheet-like staples.